"Xiao Chen, this Tide Light Jellyfish is perfect for you. Do you want to capture it?"
Luo Chen looked a little helpless. "Teacher, it really is perfect for me—perfect enough to be my Second Soul Ring. But I'm only at level sixteen right now... The two Soul Beasts I can capture can't become my Soul Rings..."
Meng Shenji was also stunned by this. "It really is a shame. Sigh, if we wait until you reach level twenty to come back, it'll probably have run off by then..."
Luo Chen's mind raced as he wondered whether there was some way to keep this Tide Light Jellyfish around. Treasure Light Jellyfish were easy to find, but mutated Tide Light Jellyfish weren't.
"Kid, I know a secret art that can temporarily seal this Tide Light Jellyfish. Let's make a deal: I'll teach you the secret art, and you release a little of my power. How about it?"
Luo Chen knew exactly what the Evil Emperor wanted. He still wanted to escape from the King Ball, but he didn't know that this was entirely beyond Luo Chen's control. The King Ball's own mechanisms were responsible for sealing his power.
"Evil Emperor, I really can't do it. I've told you again and again that there's nothing I can do. If you want to give it to me, then give it to me. If not, I'll just find another Soul Beast. It doesn't matter. I refuse to believe I can't find another one."
Just as Meng Shenji and his student were at their wits' end, a rustling sound suddenly came from farther away.
"Who's there?"
They turned around and saw a turtle-like Soul Beast, as big as a millstone, slowly shuffling along.
"A Plate Armor Turtle?" Luo Chen said.
"That's right, a Plate Armor Turtle. Judging by its aura, it should be around two hundred years old."
Suddenly, Luo Chen had an idea. If he used an ordinary Gulu Ball to capture a Soul Beast, would his Soul Power Level increase?
"Teacher, I want to try capturing that Plate Armor Turtle first," Luo Chen said, pointing at it.
Meng Shenji looked it over. "All right. The Plate Armor Turtle has very strong defenses, but almost no offensive power. And you're a Spiritual-type Soul Master, so its shell is practically useless against you. Go ahead. I'll watch your back!"
Luo Chen headed toward the Plate Armor Turtle. The turtle was terrified.
It had been peacefully napping by the pool when a sudden, powerful mental shock had nearly turned it into an idiot. Fortunately, the attack hadn't been aimed at it. So it fled along with the other Soul Beasts in the pool—but it was far too slow!
As Luo Chen drew closer, his heart suddenly clenched. He instinctively dodged to the side.
"Awooo...!" A pained howl rang out. Luo Chen turned to see a huge wolf's head before him. The one who had saved him was Meng Shenji.
"Xiao Chen, don't let your guard down! This is the Star Dou Great Forest. Unless you have overwhelming strength, you must never let your guard down!"
It was a Blazing Wolf, just like Qin Ming's Martial Soul. This one had a cultivation of a little over a hundred years. Luo Chen ignored the Plate Armor Turtle for the moment. That fellow was slow; he could deal with the Blazing Wolf first, then take care of the turtle.
"I understand, teacher." Luo Chen was still shaken. As expected, danger lurked everywhere in this fantasy world. The Blazing Wolf had already been knocked unconscious by Meng Shenji's soul shock and was on the verge of death.
Luo Chen was secretly delighted. Perfect! This was the ideal state: barely alive, just like when he used to whittle down an enemy's health bar in a game.
"Come forth, Gulu Ball!"
A blue-and-white sphere appeared, with a yellow five-pointed star in the middle. It was an ordinary Gulu Ball.
Luo Chen aimed at the Blazing Wolf and threw the Gulu Ball in his hand. It traced a perfect arc through the air and landed squarely on the wolf's head, then bounced back up. The next moment, the Blazing Wolf turned into a streak of red light and was sucked into the Gulu Ball. The ball shook twice, and its yellow five-pointed star flashed.
"Ding!" A familiar sound effect rang out, signaling that the Blazing Wolf had been captured.
The Gulu Ball flew back and circled once around Luo Chen's waist. A pendant appeared there out of thin air, and the Gulu Ball hung from it.
Immediately afterward, Luo Chen felt warmth surge through his body. The forty percent of the Blazing Wolf's Soul Power that flowed back into him instantly raised him by more than two levels, almost three.
"That's so strong? Two levels?" Luo Chen was overjoyed. His gaze shifted to the Plate Armor Turtle. In his eyes, it was now nothing less than a walking experience fruit!
The Plate Armor Turtle felt a chill and struggled to crawl away. To anyone watching, though, it was a pitiful sight: one meter in five seconds.
"Heh heh, little turtle, stop running. Let me capture you!"
To be safe, he decided to whittle down the Plate Armor Turtle's health first.
But the next moment, the turtle pulled in all four limbs and withdrew into its shell.
"Tsk. I was only going to give you a little pain and suffering, but you're making me hurt your soul. Well, don't blame me, then."
"First Soul Skill, Evil Eye Gaze!"
Evil Eye Gaze didn't just leave its target paralyzed; it could also directly damage the target's sea of consciousness.
Hundred-Year Soul Beasts had yet to develop intelligence. On top of that, this skill came from the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring of the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign. A single strike was enough to knock the Plate Armor Turtle unconscious.
Sure enough, as Luo Chen's attack struck the Plate Armor Turtle, its four limbs flopped out of its shell like lumps of mud. It was clearly done for.
Luo Chen didn't wait. He took out another Gulu Ball and tossed it at the turtle, successfully capturing his third Soul Beast—the Plate Armor Turtle!
His Soul Power Level rose to twenty as well. Luo Chen felt dizzy, then shook his head and quickly came around.
Sure enough, capturing Soul Beasts could increase his level. The realization gave Luo Chen a bold idea.
Meng Shenji was stunned by this whole series of moves. It was the first time he had seen Luo Chen capture a Soul Beast.
"Teacher, I'm at level twenty!"
As he spoke, Luo Chen felt his palm grow warm. A flash of light followed, and a strange Gulu Ball appeared. It wasn't any kind of Poké Ball Luo Chen had seen before—not an ordinary Gulu Ball, not an Intermediate Gulu Ball, not an Advanced Gulu Ball, and certainly not a King Ball.
The next moment, information about the ball entered Luo Chen's mind—Tide Ball. The chance of successfully capturing Water-attribute Soul Beasts increased by fifty percent, with an additional twenty percent increase when used underwater! It also came with a recipe!
Luo Chen was dumbfounded. Neither the ordinary Gulu Ball nor the King Ball had come with a recipe. Why had a recipe for the Tide Ball suddenly appeared?
"Xiao Chen, your Martial Soul...?" Meng Shenji was even more puzzled, and the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign was just as astonished.
"How many tricks do you have up your sleeve, human brat?"
"Teacher, this is the Tide Ball, which unlocked automatically when I reached level twenty. It's a type of Gulu Ball specially made to capture Water-attribute Soul Beasts!"
Meng Shenji laughed heartily at this. "Xiao Chen, don't tell me you planned all of this! All right, I'm just teasing you. Your luck really is incredible. Should I help you with this Tide Light Jellyfish? It's nothing like those two Soul Beasts. This one is well over nine hundred years old."
"No need, teacher. Leave it to me. I've got three against one now! Come forth, Blazing Wolf! Plate Armor Turtle!"
Before you continue